The United Arab Emirates has jailed for one year a Nigerian lady who shared a video of herself and other Nigerians held at the Dubai International Airport and made comments on her Twitter handle: @dunchichi.
This development was confirmed by another Twitter user: @jerrydoubles, in a series of tweets on Saturday.
The Eagle Online recalls that @dunchichi, who simply identified herself as Dinchi on Twitter, had raised the alarm about her detention along with about 20 other Nigerians on August 31, 2022.
She tweeted: “I’m at Dubai international airport and myself and some tiger Nigerians with valid Visas are being held in a room hours after arriving with no explain and no information on what we can do.
“Please help me.
“There’s more than 20 of us.”
Dinchi then went on to tell Nigerians not to visit Dubai again, adding that after spending money on visa to visit the country, the treatment of visitors was not worth it.
A while later, she then tweeted: “My sister had to go through immigration to get me released.
“It was a tedious process.
“Others are still there and I don’t know their status.
“What happens if you have no family here?
“Nobody knows what is going on.”
Dinchi then followed it up with a video: https://studio.youtube.com/video/DzKwjKtg3Hw/edit
Yet on September 2, 2022 while inside the UAE, Dinchi tweeted: “When I was about to be released after being held for over 8 hours, I was searched and scanned through a special body and luggage scanner and my belongings were opened and searched one by one like I had drugs or I had a weapon in my possession, even though I went on the trip with with my sister on a family visa.
“No apology was issued instead to me or the others in the same situation.”
A while later on the same September 2, 2022, she tweeted further: “The treatment of Nigerians in Dubai is wrong. After meeting requirements for a visa, which requires alot of money, and you’re issued one You get treated with disdain when you arrive. Not given an explanation or allowed to ask a question when they decide to do whatever they want.”
@jerrydoubles, who claimed to be Dinchi’s relative, tweeted on Saturday: “It is sad and regrettably heartrending to tell you all that @dunchichi was sentenced on 12th Oct 22, to 1yr in jail in Dubai.
“Her family are devastated and Nigeria didn’t save her.
“Her sentence came from the backdrop that she got a family visa to travel.
“But in fact, she was there with her sister.
“It got messy & complicated, she was released on arrival after being detained for several hours, only to be sentenced when she was returning to Nigeria.
“They are capitalising on the fact that she made a video then posted them on her Twitter timeline to narrate the ordeal.
“They said it’s cybercrime in their country.
“She went ahead to delete it.
“Still, that didn’t soften them.
“Now she is jailed #justicefordinci.
@jerrydoubles said Dinchi’s family was planning a protest in Abuja, adding: “If you stay in Abuja or know someone who does and would love to join us.”
The Eagle Online recalls that the UAE earlier in the year stopped the issuance of visas to persons under 30, but placed priority on family visits.
However, a lot of Nigerians who obtained family visas arrived alone in the UAE, resulting in a lot of them being held at the country’s airports longer than expected.
The Nigerian Government warned those under 30, especially men, against travelling to the UAE based on the new visa rules.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, warned in a video that Nigerians should abide by the rules of the country in obtaining the visa and when visiting.
Dabiri-Erewa: https://studio.youtube.com/video/OAhwQg5iB6w/edit
Also in the UAE, the use of video platforms, especially WhatsApp, is restricted.
The Eagle Online recalls that a Nigerian lady was jailed for sharing a video on WhatsApp regarding the the arrest of some prostitutes in Dubai in August 2022.